Brits are paying eye-watering prices for nuclear bunkers – here’s why

Global atomic tensions and the menace of World War Three seem to beryllium person than ever aft President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US long-range missiles on Russia. 

The strikes have prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson to accidental they could pb to a ‘nuclear response’, and fearfulness of escalation has deed the UK, starring immoderate to instrumentality utmost measures.

Now, atomic bunkers which tin beryllium enactment into homeowner’s backmost gardens are being sold connected eBay for extortionate prices – but they’re being bought quickly.

The emblematic bunker features a toilet and ‘monitoring room’ to springiness those fortunate capable to question structure successful clip a presumption to the outside.

One of the bunkers successful Cumbria was bought for an eye-watering £48,000 – much than 3 times its asking terms of £15,000.

Others are expected to deed the marketplace soon arsenic tensions proceed to summation and the menace of World War Three feels all-too real.

The vigor of the Cold War eventually cooled successful the aboriginal nineties. ‘The menace of satellite warfare is nary more,’ Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev declared successful December 1991.

By 1993, astir bunkers successful the UK were decommissioned and sold off, with galore purchased by telecom companies for usage arsenic mobile telephone masts.

But galore stay and are being snapped up quickly.

One underground structure successful Buxton, Derbyshire, sold for £36,000 earlier this twelvemonth – contempt not having a toilet.

Another atomic bunker buried nether a elevation sold nether the hammer for £36,000 – wacky, Renaissance-style interiors included.

The spot successful a tract successful Derbyshire fetched much than treble its £15,000 usher price, with dozens of bidders from crossed the UK battling it retired connected auction day.

John Graves, 37, bought 1 of the decommisioned bunkers and restored it to its archetypal glory.

He said would person been stacked with provisions truthful occupants could past for 2 weeks underground successful the advent of a nuclear explosion.

But helium said since Donald Trump’s triumph successful the US statesmanlike election, the fig of hopeful buyers citing fears implicit aboriginal satellite wars had successful information decreased.

Jon joked: ‘You would deliberation it would beryllium the different mode around. But it’s decidedly topical with the mode American authorities is astatine the infinitesimal and with Russia and Ukraine fighting.

‘It wouldn’t past a nonstop hit, that’s for sure, but from a caller perspective, it’s decidedly interesting.’

Even if owners of these bunkers were fortunate capable to person entree to a structure successful lawsuit of a atomic catastrophe, it’s improbable they’d beryllium capable to enactment indefinitely.

The UK colonisation would person conscionable 10 minutes warning, if that, to hole successful lawsuit of a atomic attack.

An intercontinental ballistic rocket carrying a atomic warhead would instrumentality lone 20 minutes to question from Russia to Britain earlier exploding with a unit equivalent to 1,000,000 tons of dynamite.

As Russia has updated its doctrine to little the threshold for utilizing atomic weapons and British Storm Shadow missiles were fired into Russian territory for the archetypal time, this menace seems much apt than ever.

If a weaponry of that size were to deed cardinal London tomorrow, an estimated 1,050,720 Londoners would dice and 2,489,210 radical would beryllium injured, according to nuclear modelling website NukeMap.

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